Bayern’s dream of becoming the first team to retain the Champions League was painfully extinguished on Tuesday night as Real Madrid powered to a 4-0 victory in the decisive semi-final second leg, handing the Spaniards the tie 5-0 on aggregate. It was not how the proud Bavarians wanted their 400th match in European competition to end as they were clinically denied a third final appearance in a row by the better team on the night and were forced to relinquish their grip on Europe’s elite club trophy - for this season at least.
Pep Guardiola’s men began brightly enough but the boisterous and passionate 68,000 full house at the Allianz Arena fell eerily silent when Spain hard man Sergio Ramos handed the visitors a two-goal lead with only 20 minutes played. World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo made it three before the break, meaning the Reds needed five second-half goals to progress. It was always a remote prospect and an ultimately futile task against the disciplined and iron-willed visitors, who twisted the knife at the end when Ronaldo slid a last-minute free-kick under the Bayern wall and over the line.
FCB will now conclude their championship-winning campaign with one last highlight, the DFB Cup final against Borussia Dortmund in Berlin on 17 May. The Bavarians are back in action on Saturday afternoon in the penultimate Bundesliga fixture of the season away to crisis club Hamburg.
